2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 6 - Public Finances
Article 10 - Public Money
Section 6-10-36 - Public money deposits of certain governmental units; distribution; interest.

A. All public money, except that in the custody of the state treasurer, institutions of higher education, technical and vocational institutes, incorporated municipalities and counties that have adopted home rule charters as authorized by the constitution of New Mexico and local school boards that have been designated as boards of finance, shall be deposited in qualified depositories in accordance with the terms of this section or invested as otherwise provided by law.

B. Deposits of funds of a governmental unit may be made in noninterest-bearing checking accounts in one or more banks or savings and loan associations designated as checking depositories located within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit. In addition, deposits of funds may be in noninterest-bearing accounts in one or more credit unions designated as checking depositories located within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit to the extent the deposits are insured by an agency of the United States. If there is no checking depository within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit, one or more banks, savings and loan associations or credit unions within the county in which the principal office of the governmental unit is located may be so designated, but credit union deposits shall be insured by an agency of the United States.

C. Public money placed in interest-bearing deposits in banks and savings and loan associations shall be equitably distributed among all banks and savings and loan associations having their main or staffed branch offices within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit that have qualified as public depositories by reason of insurance of the account by an agency of the United States or by depositing collateral security or by giving bond as provided by law and that desire a deposit of public money pursuant to this section. The deposits shall be in the proportion that each bank's or savings and loan association's deposits bears to the total deposits of all banks and savings and loan associations that have their main office or staffed branch office within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit and that desire a deposit of public money pursuant to this section. The deposits of the main office of a savings and loan association and its staffed branch offices within the geographical boundaries of a governmental unit is the total deposits of the association multiplied by the percentage that deposits of the main office and the staffed branch offices located within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit are of the total deposits of the association, net of any public fund deposits. The deposits of each staffed branch office or aggregate of staffed branch offices of a savings and loan association located outside the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit in which the main office is located is the total deposits of the association multiplied by the percentage that deposits of the branch or the aggregate of branches located outside the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit in which the main office is located are of the total deposits of the association, net of any public fund deposits. The director of the financial institutions division of the regulation and licensing department shall promulgate a formula for determining the deposits of banks' main offices and branches for the purposes of distribution of public money as provided for by this section.

D. Public money may be placed at the discretion of the designated board of finance or treasurer in interest-bearing deposits in credit unions having their main or staffed branch offices within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit to the extent the deposits are insured by an agency of the United States.

E. The rate of interest for all public money deposited in interest-bearing accounts in banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions shall be set by the state board of finance, but in no case shall the rate of interest be less than one hundred percent of the asked price on United States treasury bills of the same maturity on the day of deposit. Any bank or savings and loan association that fails to pay the minimum rate of interest at the time of deposit provided for in this subsection for any respective deposit forfeits its right to an equitable share of that deposit under this section.

If the deposit is part or all of the proceeds of a bond issue and the interest rate prescribed in this subsection materially exceeds the rate of interest of the bonds, the interest rate prescribed by this subsection shall be reduced on that deposit to an amount not materially exceeding the interest rate of the bonds if the bond issue would lose its tax-exempt status pursuant to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

F. Public money in excess of that for which banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit have qualified may be deposited in qualified depositories in other areas within the state under the same requirements for payment of interest as if the money were deposited within the geographical boundaries of the governmental unit or may be invested as provided by law.

G. The department of finance and administration may monitor the deposits of public money by governmental units to assure full compliance with the provisions of this section.

History: 1953 Comp., § 11-2-33, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 136, § 1; 1981, ch. 332, § 15; 1983, ch. 191, § 1; 1987, ch. 79, § 15; 1997, ch. 123, § 2; 2007, ch. 228, § 1.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1977, ch. 136, § 1, repealed 11-2-33, 1953 Comp., relating to county and municipal moneys to be deposited in county, and enacted a new 6-10-36 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, amended Subsection C to change the formula for distribution of deposits of public funds by providing that deposits shall be made only to banks and savings and loan associations that desire a deposit of public money pursuant to this section and eliminated the definition of "net worth".

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, inserted "technical and vocational institutes" in Subsection A and substituted "pursuant to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended" for "under Section 103 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended" in Subsection E.

The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, inserted "or credit union" following "savings and loan association" in the penultimate sentence of Subsection B and in the first sentence of Subsections E and F; in Subsection B inserted the present second sentence and the present fourth sentence, and in the third sentence substituted "checking depository" for "bank or savings and loan association" near the beginning; in Subsection C inserted "in banks and savings and loan associations" following "placed in interest-bearing deposits" near the beginning of the first sentence and in the penultimate sentence substituted "regulation and licensing" for "commerce and industry" following "the director of the financial institutions division of the" at the beginning; inserted Subsection D and relettered the subsequent subsections accordingly; and made minor changes in language throughout the section.

Deposits in credit unions. — Sections 6-10-36(D) and 6-10-44 NMSA 1978 do not give the county treasurer and the county board of finance co-equal powers with respect to deposits in federally insured credit unions. These sections do not alter the relative authority of the county treasurer and the county board of finance as stated in 6-10-8 NMSA 1978. Sections 6-10-36(D) and 6-10-44.1 NMSA 1978 were intended to permit deposits in credit unions by treasurers and boards of finance of various public bodies, not just counties, leaving to other statutory provisions the question of the relative responsibilities of the two in making an investment decision. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs v. Padilla, 1990-NMCA-125, 111 N.M. 278, 804 P.2d 1097.

Certificates of deposit are deposits for purposes of this section. 1987 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 87-50.

"School activity funds" of public schools are considered to be public funds so as to require that they be deposited in the same manner as other public funds. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-71.

Any moneys derived from tax levies and used to support a county hospital are public funds. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-76.

County funds must be deposited within county if banks are qualified. — County funds must be deposited by the county treasurer or board in control in one or more banks within his county if there are banks qualified to accept the funds. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-25.

Branch bank within a county is a compulsory depository. — The New Mexico statutes which authorize branch banking do not, however, define the relations between the parent organization and its branches. Although the weight of authority for most purposes indicates that branch banks do not have a distinct corporate existence and authority independent of the parent bank, and that a bank and its branches, for most purposes, exist as one corporation, a branch bank located within a county is a compulsory depository of the moneys of that county. 1957 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 57-25.

The branch of a bank incorporated within this state is a proper depository for public funds, providing it qualifies as a depository under the terms of this section. 1963 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 63-20.

Subsection E limitation inapplicable if rate not paid because of federal law or regulation. — The requirement in Subsection E that a financial institution forfeit a deposit of public money for failure to pay the rate of interest set by the state board of finance does not apply in the event that the rate is not paid because of federal law or regulation. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-06.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 63C Am. Jur. 2d Public Funds §§ 5 to 12.

26A C.J.S. Depositaries § 8.